Home resident testifies to assault

Sitting in a wheelchair using an oxygen tube, Edwin L. Lloyd sat about six feet away from John S. Collins, a former certified nursing assistant at Country Meadows nursing home who allegedly punched him in the chest on Sept. 24, yet he couldn't see him.

The 92-year-old Country Meadows resident, who has vision problems in both eyes, testified at a preliminary hearing in the home Tuesday night that he knows Collins only as "John," his nurse who Lloyd said punched him in the center of his chest during a heated argument. He testified that before the assault Collins told him: "I am going to hit you, and I am going to jail, and you will be in the hospital."

Paula A. Roscioli, first deputy district attorney, said she is positive Collins, 33, of 429 Reynolds St., Easton, is the person who attacked Lloyd, calling him a "recognizable person" at 6 feet 5 inches tall.

"We have no doubt that we have the right person," Roscioli said. "John was the only male nurse working with him that night. He is very recognizable."

Roscioli said Lloyd could actually see Collins if he was very close to him and knew him by his voice and as the nursing assistant who regularly cared for him.

Collins, whom Lloyd described as "a big fella," was arrested a day after the attack and is in Northampton County Prison under $50,000 bail on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and neglect of a dependent person.

Lloyd, who was released from Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township, on Monday, suffered four fractured ribs and a punctured lung in the attack.

Lloyd's testimony before Northampton County Judge Stephen G. Baratta Tuesday at the Bethlehem Township nursing home was videotaped and will be used when the preliminary hearing is continued at a later date. Lloyd's testimony was taped in case he is unable to attend further proceedings, Roscioli said.

Lloyd testified Tuesday the two men traded insults between 8 and 9 p.m. as Lloyd was preparing for bed, which ultimately led to "John" spitting in his face and then punching him in the chest while he rested on a recliner.

"He was cussing at me and I was cussing at him," said Lloyd in a faint, yet raspy voice. "All of a sudden, he punched me with his fist in my chest. It felt terrible. It sure did."

Lloyd, who entered Country Meadows in December, said Collins regularly insulted him and he fought back because he wasn't going to be mistreated and "take it sitting down."

Lloyd said Collins made wisecracks about his vision problems, but he "always just thought he was crazy." He said Collins stood in the room for several minutes after he punched him, until Lloyd "told him to leave me alone."

Collins' lawyer, Douglas Tkacik of Bethlehem, said he does not believe that his client is the person who struck Lloyd and is investigating what really happened.

Tkacik called the fact that Lloyd could not see his client from six feet away "a problem for the commonwealth," and said his client has been unfairly portrayed as a violent man by the media.

"We know it was not John Collins," Tkacik said.

Country Meadows officials said they did not know of Collins' lengthy criminal record in Northampton County and New Jersey when he was hired.

According to court records, Collins has been convicted five times for offenses such as disorderly conduct, simple assault and criminal mischief and was forced to resign and never seek work again at a New Jersey facility for physically and mentally challenged residents after he threw a chair in August 2001.

However, none of the convictions showed up when nursing home officials hired him on March 29 after checking a state registry of certified nursing assistants, according to Abbey Luterick, Country Meadows spokeswoman.

At the hearing, Lloyd testified that three nurses talked to him after he was attacked, telling him "he won't bother you anymore tonight," yet he was not treated until the following morning.

Roscioli said she "is certainly concerned on how this was handled," and the county Agency on Aging plans to investigate.

Both Lloyd's family and Collins' family refused to comment after the hearing.